U.S. Says Wants To Ensure Georgians' Desire To Integrate EU, NATO 'Heard Loud And Clear'

The United States on Wednesday reiterated its concerns over an increasing disinformation campaign in Georgia ahead of the country's forthcoming crucial parliamentary elections on October 26th, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"This is a classic play on the part of the Russians. They use disinformation to divide our societies from within to try and break up the unity that exists across our vast network of allies and partners around the world," the U.S. Ambassador to NATO told a virtual briefing when responding to TURAN's questions.

"And we have worked for many years with the people of Georgia to see if we can help them cope with this disinformation challenge," Ambassador Julianne Smith said during a special briefing organized by the State Department's Brussels Media Hub.

The Western allies have been applying heavy pressure on Georgia's pro-Russian ruling party, "Georgian Dream", as they have continued to escalate their anti-Western and authoritarian rhetoric.

"We in the United States as well as many countries in Europe have been very direct with our friends in Georgia about our concerns for their democratic process, and that we want to ensure that the desire of the Georgian public to integrate into Western institutions like the EU or NATO, that those desires are heard loud and clear, and that they maintain their commitment to core democratic principles, to human rights, to democracy, and the rule of law," Ambassador Smith said.

Separately on Wednesday, a bipartisan leaders of U.S. Helsinki Commission, along with the State Department's Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Dafna Rand, issued a joint statement ahead of Georgia’s parliamentary elections noting that the current government’s authoritarian trajectory "imperils Georgia’s democratic future and its people’s deep-seated Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”

“Over the past several decades, the people of Georgia have demonstrated their commitment to democracy and the rule of law. The Georgian people deserve a government that respects their right to elect their own leaders democratically, and the Georgian government must honor their obligations to their country and citizens by holding free and fair elections, monitored by independent election observers, allowing for political opposition, as it has done for years," reads the statement.